Broken Wings
by TimidQuarian
Summary: With the war between Heaven and Hell coming to a head along with the continuous pressures of Lucifer and Michael, the Winchesters and Castiel alike are becoming spent. The brothers begin to believe that maybe they really can't escape destiny. With Dean about ready to say the magic word, he grows close to defeat. Lucky for Dean, he has an angel on his shoulder.
1. Dark Side of the Moon

**A/N**

_This story takes place all the way back in season 5, it will span the episodes of S.5 E.16- Early Season 6, depending on where I take it. :)_

_I hope you enjoy- and yeah._

_I don't have a beta, so I apologize for mistakes._

p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"'Dark Side of the Moon'/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Sam and Dean were dead./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel didn't think that he would particularly care; Zachariah would personally see Michael and Lucifer's vessels back to Earth with a quick snap of his fingers, anyway. Yet, the moment Castiel had felt an unpleasant shift in his equilibrium he flew as fast as he could to get to the grungy little motel room that the Winchesters had been occupying for the night and the moment he appeared in that room… He saw them, both of them, flat out on their respected beds with bullet shrapnel littering their chests. The Winchester's eyes were lifeless and wide open and Castiel found himself avoiding their deadly stare. The angel was surprised, though at the same time he wasn't./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He faced death every day; sometimes he was even the distributor of it. This was different, though. He had just seen them yesterday, alive and well and laughing. Sam and Dean had been drinking and they had offered Castiel a beer, but he declined- knowing that with all the apocalypse crap he'd probably drink until he was well passed out. Then Castiel bored them with questions on why mortals found drinking appropriate when death was practically nipping at their heels. Dean had then made some offhandish joke about Sam needing a haircut and about Castiel's impeccable charm that the angel hadn't understood, though he was sure Dean's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Even if he didn't laugh at the joke, he… understood, and for once Castiel even forgot about the apocalypse. Even if it was forgotten for only five minutes, Castiel still indulged in his brief new-found peace./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Now, Sam and Dean weren't laughing and the apocalypse was as inevitable as ever./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"And for a split second, Castiel couldn't help but feel alone./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He felt… odd. Angels weren't supposed to feel anything, let alone sympathize with humans. People wondered why he had rebelled, and he supposed that this was it. So he pursed his lips before turning away from the beds. His usual emotionless face returning as he leaned up against the half kitchen counter./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He pulled himself from his momentary moment of self-pity and forced himself to actually emthink./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The impending apocalypse wasn't looking too good, neither were their plans for stopping it. Plan after plan had fallen through and the chance of one of the brothers claiming yes to possession was approaching more rapidly than Castiel had ever imagined./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"God was their only hope- if Castiel could manage to locate the man. It was hard to find someone when they obviously didn't want to be found./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emJoshua./em The messenger for God, himself./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He would know where the big man was- he emhad/em to know./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Problem was, Joshua was located in the Garden of Eve- in emHeaven./em The one place where Castiel wasn't just allowed to pop in and out whenever he pleased. Once again it was up to the Winchesters, Sam and Dean would have to find Joshua before Zachariah found them./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The only bump in the road was figuring out how to get through to them. There wasn't exactly a Heaven telephone service that would allow him to call one of the two up. He'd have to settle for something more… oblique./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel grabbed his beige trench coat by the lapels, pushing it more to the side of his body as he settled in one of the chairs that had been the scene of last night's commodities. What made the angel even more nostalgic was the fact that their beer cans still sat, discarded on the small motel table. He shoved them away. Folding his hands upon the slightly sticky table he closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath as if to focus. His 'angel mojo', as Dean liked to classify it as, was already running dangerously low, but he had to try. This was their last viable option./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He hated to admit it, but this was literally a life or death situation and he was leaving it up to the Winchesters, if he could contact them./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel sat shockingly still, his face solemn and nose pointed slightly up in the air. He took shallow breaths, his focus centered on breaking through./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"After minutes of waiting, focusing, and hoping, the angel wasn't hearing nor feeling anything. All hope for contacting Dean (not that Castiel didn't like Sam, Dean and him just shared a more… profound connection) presumably lost as he prepared to slump back into that unbearably uncomfortable motel chair./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"No quicker as his hope had been discarded, it was resurrected. A feeling in his gut steadied as soft static invaded his brain./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Dean?" he called out hesitantly, his eyebrows furrowed as he sat in his trance, hoping that Dean would answer him. The angel wanted badly to give in to his mortal habit of drumming his fingers against the table, it would happen often when he was ticked or nervous. Right now it was the latter provoking the habit. He refused to give in; as it might break his concentration- he could already feel Dean slipping away from him./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The static was replaced. Castiel heard the sound of confused and frantic footsteps moving around whatever device he was using to break through to Heaven. Though, no words were spoken./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Dean," Castiel stated again, less of a question and more of a demand for the daft man to answer the 'phone'. This was emimportant./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Somewhere in the distance a door opened and closed, yet Castiel wasn't sure if it was in the motel room or if it was happening in Heaven. Castiel hoped to God that it was happening in Heaven, he couldn't risk breaking this connection as it was hard enough to achieve in the first place./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas?"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emFinally./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas?!" Dean sounded confused and excited at the same time, which was another thing that puzzled Castiel. How could mortals stand to feel more than one emotion at a time? He kept the question to himself, saving it for the next time they all went drinking./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Dean," Castiel confirmed, speaking in his normal gravely tone. "You have-"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas! You need to get me out of here, man. I think the Trickster-"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Dean. You're dead."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It was painstakingly obvious that Dean had no idea what was happening and with limited time on both of their hands he had no choice but to break it to him even./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Oh, uh, well thanks for candycoatin' it, hotshot!" Dean's scowl was evident in his words. "Now how the hell do I get out?"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You can't."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What do you-?"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""emNot yet./em"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel knew that Dean was probably seething, as he always was when attempting to have a conversation with the angel. Castiel was unknowingly vague and Dean couldn't help but get annoyingly aggravated every time the 'Angel of The Lord' tried to inform him of something. Castiel always had the one up./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What do you mean 'emNot yet'/em?!" Somewhere in Dean's world something slammed against something resulting in an echoing thud in the angel's head. Castiel assumed it was Dean slapping whatever was in reach in reaction to Castiel refusing to help him once again. Even though every time Castiel insisted that he wasn't refusing to help, it was the fact that he emcouldn't./em If he could pull Sam and Dean down from Heaven and have them skip the inevitable confrontation with Zachariah, emhe would./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Is Sam with you?" Castiel hadn't heard Dean ask one question about Sam, which was unusually odd for the older Winchester, yet, the angel had no time to worry about the Winchester family affairs. Things had been rough enough between the two as it was./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""No," a pause. "Is he up here too? Where is he?"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel sighed; this would be even harder than he had anticipated. Crackling noises entered his head and he could feel them disconnecting./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Dean, listen to me," Castiel instructed sternly, not wasting a second. "Do you see a road? A path of some sort?"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Uh, yes?" Silence followed his words. "Yes."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The connection was becoming more difficult to maintain and Castiel continued to attempt and hold it for as long as he could./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Follow it. You'll find Sam if you follow it." Castiel ushered out the words, fearing that this would be the last thing he would be able to say before the call dropped. He needed to give Dean just enough information to formulate some sort of plan./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas! Wait-"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The connection had been lost./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel's shoulders slumped forward, his hands falling into his lap and off the disgustingly sticky table left behind by the Winchesters and their careless drinking habits. He would need to rest if he wanted to talk to them again, and he knew he'd have too. Hopefully Dean was intelligent enough to follow his instructions, following the road emwould/em lead him to his brother, and from there he'd attempt to communicate again./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"For now- he was to rest./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"…/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The angel had never been a fan of sleeping, so he didn't sleep. He didn't need too, anyway. So he sat slumped uncomfortably in that motel chair, his eyes closed to imitate the idea of sleep. Castiel's hands were folded comfortably upon his lower abdomen as he waited for the right time to call Dean back with their new instructions./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Somewhere a door opened, and for a moment Castiel couldn't tell if it was Dean's attempt at calling him back or if it was actually happening within the room he was resting in. The angel's bright blue eyes shot open, immediately focusing on the smaller figure that filled the doorway entrance to the motel room./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emMortal. Good, he wouldn't have to kill her./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She wore a half apron, a cleaning cart trailing behind her as she pushed open the door. She barely had time to make it into the room before her eyes were fixed on the two dead men lying in their respected beds, her jaw going slack as her mouth opened wide in shock. Castiel was up before she could scream, materializing before her pressing two fingers to her forehead. Her body fell limp into Castiel's arms and he carefully dragged her outside, placing her and her cart out on the small back porch that came with the room./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He brushed the palm of his hands on his beige coat before placing the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the outside of the motel door./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"…/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What are you doing?" Sam's unmistakable voice echoed in his head as he sat, content, in that uncomfortable chair./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas talked to me through the car radio, maybe he can do something like that again," There was a pause between Dean's word and Castiel begin to muster up some more 'angel mojo' to break through to them./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Dean?" Castiel blurted, a vision materializing in his brain as he began to be able to emsee/em them./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas!" The two brothers turned on their heels to meet the gaze of TV Castiel./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The vision was constantly breaking up and fuzzing in and out, but it was something, at least it allowed Castiel to convey his information./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The conversation was anything but enlightening. It started with questions- emmany/em questions that Castiel had no time to answer, which only left his friends more confused and annoyed than they had been in the beginning. Dean had asked if Castiel had something against giving straight answers and Castiel had deferred to his usual straight faced 'Yes'. It eventually progressed to Dean cursing about angels and Zachariah, which was undoubtedly expected and then to more questions. Yet, somehow inbetween all of the questions and snarky comments from Dean, Castiel was able to give the brothers their next instructions. They were to find Joshua in the Garden of Eve by following the road all while watching out for the light. The light that signified Zachariah./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Then the call began to drop again./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Is that all, Cas?" Sam had asked for the millionth time, while kneeling down to make eye contact with the TV angel. The boy sure insisted upon being thorough./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel was about to say yes, when the house started rumbling beneath the Winchester's feet. He could hear the distant shatter of glass and watched as the lights flickered out above them. emHe/em was here./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""emWatch out for the light!/em" Was all Castiel had time to muster before a blinding light reflected down upon the two through the house window./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Before Castiel had time to yell at them to run, the two had gotten the hint and ran./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Then Castiel lost the vision and he was back in the uncomfortable chair in the small motel room with two dead bodies and discarded beer cans./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He could only hope that the two were able to get to Joshua and avoid Zachariah./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"…/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"An hour or two must've passed before Castiel heard the rather loud gasps for air from the opposite side of the room. He could've left, but he needed to know if the two had managed to meet Joshua and gain knowledge on God's whereabouts./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"His eyes opened and he stood quickly, watching as the two previously dead men pushed themselves up and out of bed- the wounds vanquished from their bodies, but the blood still plastered on their clothes./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel wanted nothing more than to blurt, asking for answers but he was decent enough to give the Winchester's a few moments to regain their composure. Or maybe he wasn't./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Did you find Joshua? Where's God?" Suddenly Castiel was besides Dean's bed, unable to stop himself from showering the two in questions. Waiting was for losers./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean just pursed his lips before slowly looking up at the angel was his spot on the bed./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas, we were just emdead,"/em Dean breathed, already annoyed with the angel. "Y'know a 'Hi' or 'How are you feeling?' or emsomethin'/em would be nice."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hi, Dean," Castiel's lips pulled into an agitated form, his tone dropping roughly as he glared at the man below him./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean finally stood, just the least bit threatened by Castiel's disposition, and looked straight into the angel's eyes./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""So?" Castiel asked expectantly, his tone lighting ever so slightly as he stood level with Dean./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""We talked to Joshua," Sam spoke up, eyeing the two who were seemingly trapped in a deadly staring contest. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel broke his gaze with Dean before turning to face the taller one of the two./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""And?" Castiel raised a thin eyebrow, the anticipation was absolutley killing him. The sooner they knew where God was the sooner this would all be over./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""And he won't be helping us." Sam gave a curt nod, a sigh escaping his lips as he delievered the news./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It took the angel a moment to comprehend Sam Winchester's words, but once he did Castiel's heart plummeted. The Winchester's were lying. They emhad /emto be. Castiel's eyes flicked from the floor to Sam's face, which implied that he was telling nothing but the truth and Castiel just stood there. Not knowing how to act or reply, but all he really knew is that he could emreally/em use that drink about now./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas," Dean's voice lingered as he stared at Castiel, trying to decide how to respond to the angel's uncomfortable and depressing silence. He had never acted like this before, and it was only a matter of finding out emhow /emto deal with it./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel didn't give him the chance, he swiftly held up his hand, motioning for Dean to stop talking before he turned away./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You son of a bitch," Castiel muttered, his eyes flicking up to look above him and at the cracked motel room ceiling. His harsh words directed towards God. "I believed in you- I emtrusted/em you."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas," Dean walked forward again, knowing that this had to be difficult for him- God was his emfather./em There really was no hope./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" But before either of the Winchester boys could respond, Castiel was gone./p


	2. The Devil's Advocate

p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"'The Devil's Advocate'/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It had been hours since Castiel had vanished from the Winchester's unclean motel room, neither Sam nor Dean had any idea on where he might've vanished to and he wasn't answering their calls, so eventually they decided it best to leave the 'Angel of the Lord' alone with his thoughts- wherever he might be./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Do you think angels have strip clubs?" Dean's voice pierced the dark air of the motel. They were still there, after all, night had already been falling by the time that had 'returned from the dead' per se. A beer bottle was clutched in his right hand as he lay lounging on the motel bed that had been his casket only hours before. The older Winchester's free hand was tucked behind his head as he stared at the TV screen that sat near the foot of the bed./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Sam was rather occupied at the sticky motel table, his laptop flipped open, the screen's soft light illuminating his face and part of his plaid button up as he enveloped himself in more research. Lately, he had grown obsessed- finding a way to avoid the apocalypse along with avoiding Lucifer and Michael in the mix was his new full time job. He broke his gaze with the screen for a split second, staring at Dean with his 'what goes on in that head of yours' look./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""No," he answered quickly, furrowing his eyebrows as he shook his head at his sometimes incredulous brother./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Really?" Dean replied, pushing himself up on the bed a bit so that he was leaning against the motel bed bed frame. He took another swig of his beer before placing the bottle on the shared bed stand. "'Cause if I was Cas, that's where I'd be."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Well you're not Cas, Dean." Sam hadn't even bothered to look over at his brother this time. He had better things to do than to entertain Dean's unbelievable angel theories./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Good," Dean quipped, pushing himself to the edge of the bed, his feet hanging just inches from the floor. "He has a stick up his ass, I swear."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Dean-" Sam began, preparing to tell him to cut the guy some slack- His father, the guy he believed in, had just thrown him to the curb./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I know, I know," Dean cut his brother off, rising from the bed as he ripped his phone off the charger before stuffing it in his pocket. "'Cut the guy some slack, Dean. His deadbeat father abandoned him. Blah blah.'" Dean waved his hands around, imitating his kid brother. "Well, get in line pal!"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Dean!" Sam scolded, tilting his head as he stared at his older and sometimes obnoxious brother./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm going out."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Sam just stared up at his brother, his finger poised just above the laptop's touch pad. Nowadays, Sam didn't much care where Dean got off too- he knew plenty well that sometimes they just needed space. The whole 'Michael and Lucifer war' was wedging them apart more than bringing them together, trust him. So, Sam just gave a curt nod before staring back down at his browser page that was littered with old lore and biblical nonsense./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean nodded back, sighing before walking towards the motel door. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as his brother meticulously moved his fingers over the keyboard. The older Winchester bit his lip before he could say something snarky or stupid and opened the motel room door./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Call if you need anything," was all Dean could muster out before he pushed himself through the door./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You too," Sam replied, his eyes still fixated on the computer screen./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean then closed the door behind him, nodding to himself as he fished the Impala's keys out of his leather jacket pocket./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"…/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel sat at some bar counter that was in the area; his shoulders slumped heavily as his elbows sat heavily on the wooden counter. His head down, blue eyes focused deeply on his empty glass that he twirled in his hand. To anyone else, he appeared to be drunk- though he was anything but. He was so stricken with grief that he almost had forgotten how to function; all he wished to do was numb the feeling. If there was one thing he hadn't learned from the Winchester's, it was how to bury your feelings./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The bartender stared at him wearily; she stood washing a clear glass with a washcloth while her eyes remained on the depressed man in a trench coat./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Can I get you another, darlin'?" she asked, raising one of her thin penciled eyebrows as she stashed the clean cup behind the counter before staring at him expectantly./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emWhat was it with mortals and pet names?/em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel just dismissed the thought before looking up at her momentarily, nodding to clarify that yes, he did want another. He was going to keep drinking until this goddamned depressing mood washed away and he was able to return to his work with a clear head./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Not that there was any work to return to./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Here ya go." Another glass was set in front of him and he grabbed it greedily, shoving the empty glass away and towards the bartender. She just stared at him for a moment, possibly feeling a little bad for the man- but Castiel disregarded her./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He chugged the drink, it burned as it glided down his throat, yet he felt no different. Sometimes being an angel sucked./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel tried his best not to think of God. He tried thinking about cats, demons, and even about how much he agreed with Dean about Sam needing a haircut- yet it didn't help. His thoughts would always return to God, the man that claimed that the apocalypse wasn't his problem- the man that-/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hey."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel was pulled from his thoughts, suddenly realizing that he was emshaking/em. He slammed the empty cup down. A small crack webbed up the side of the glass due to the sheer force of the slam. The bartender just stared at him, her eyebrow raised expectantly- yet, Castiel offered no apologies, he just motioned for more. The now annoyed girl whisked the broken cup away before tossing it rather loudly into the wastebasket behind the counter. Rolling her eyes, she turned away to get more for him./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"As Castiel waited with his head down, he heard the shuffling of someone pulling out the stool from besides him. He flicked his blue eyes to the side, glancing quickly at the woman who took her seat beside him. A bright smile spread across her face and Castiel noted that she was wearing almost too little, something that Dean would be drooling over if he had been there. The brunette's cleavage practically spilled from her tight crop top that read 'Devil's Advocate'. Castiel mentally sighed./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hey, handsome," she chirped, playfully grasping at the collar of his beige trench coat. She then played with her teased hair, pushing it to the side of her face as she leaned against the counter. Castiel just continued to stare at the bar's wooden counter top, wondering when that bartender would be returning with his much needed drink./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Can I buy you a drink?" she asked, continually trying to engage the angel in conversation. She inched even closer to him, practically shoving her… assets in his face./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel just continued to ignore her; he was emnot /emin the mood. He was equally confused with the gesture, but he just assumed that the female mortal was… interested in him sexually. In that case, he was emdefinitely/em not interested. He was in no mood for talking, much less in the mood for whatever this 'Devil's Advocate' woman was implying, so there he sat, hoping that she'd take the hint and leave./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"But of course he had forgotten that mortals absolutely sucked at 'taking a hint'./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You're not one for talking, are you?" The impossible woman had transitioned to playing with the short strands of hair upon his head, her horribly tanned hand twirling the strands in between her fingers as best as she could. Castiel had never understood why mortals insisted on intruding personal space, though, he supposed that he had intruded Dean's personal space more than once. "You know," the woman cooed, leaning up against him. "You're mysterious. I emlike/em mysterious."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel couldn't handle this woman any longer. His head shot up from the counter, his head turning to look at the woman with his emotionless facial features. He could see right through her, like many angels could. Almost immediately it was like he had known her for his whole life./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You wouldn't be a Satanist if you knew what was really going on in the hole." Castiel breathed, shaking his head as he watched the girl back away./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What are you-?"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You also wouldn't be dressed like that if you loved your husband."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Her mouth fell open, her eyes expressing certain hatred that only Castiel could provoke with his so called 'angel mojo'. He was about to return to his staring match with the wooden counter when she parted her lips to come up with some assumed lame comeback. Without missing a beat, Castiel beat her to it./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Don't worry. It's not your fault that emyour father left you./em" The icing on the cake./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She was gone within the next second. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"…/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean pulled up to the cliché bar, parking his Impala near the back of the lot, secluded from all the other mediocre cars. He ran a hand through his hair, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as that familiar feeling of defeat and anxiety settled in his gut. He just needed to emget away./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He pushed open the door, stepping out of his beloved vehicle before pushing the door closed behind him. He locked the doors before shoving the set of keys in his jacket pocket before proceeding to the dirty bars front door with his hands shoved deep in his pockets./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The older Winchester was only feet from the door when a girl burst out from the facility- either crying or laughing. Dean guessed the latter. He couldn't help but laugh mentally at her shirt once she got close enough to him. 'Devil's Advocate', emcute./em Though, she caught Dean's eye nonetheless./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hey," Dean started, turning on his impeccable charm as he reached out to grab her shoulder./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She pulled away from him, violently./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Don't emtouch/em me," she snapped before continuing to rush passed him./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He hadn't had anyone reject him like that for, well, forever. All he knew was that something had driven her to tears in that bar, and Dean couldn't help but wonder who emor what/em could've done it./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The man pushed open the door, immediately greeted with the smell of booze and sweat. His chocolate brown eyes scanned the vicinity for a suspect troublemaker that could have possibly upset that woman./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Then he saw Cas./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emOh./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"His head was down, his eyes focused on the wooden counter top- and then it hit Dean. That was emCastiel. His /emangel./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He wasn't aware that Castiel went anywhere but Heaven without him./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emHuh. You learn something new every day./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He approached the angel, wondering what had driven him to come to here, of all places, especially since Castiel could poof himself wherever he wanted with his angel mojo. Dean sat in the already pulled out stool, figuring that Cas had somehow managed to scar the poor girl. Before Dean even had a chance to ask, Castiel spoke, not even bothering to look up at his friend./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""She was touching me."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean just made an 'Ahh' sound before signaling for two drinks, not without throwing a wink at the bartender first./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""So," Dean began, looking over at his angel. "What are you doing here?"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What are emyou/em doing here?" Castiel shot back, suddenly more sassy than ever./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I asked you first."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm an angel."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel was being impossible./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Cas," Dean almost demanded, fed up with the angel's attitude already- and he hadn't even been with the guy for five minutes./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel finally looked away from the counter that had been his friend for the last half an hour or so and up to the Winchester seated beside him. Dean hated to admit it, but Cas looked emtired/em. Angels weren't supposed to get tired, were they? That's when he knew that Cas was not feeling like Cas. Hell, he should've known that when Cas made that girl cry (not the way he had scared that prostitute all that time ago)./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hey," Dean's voice immediately softened upon seeing Castiel emlike that./em "If you need to talk- I mean, I'm the expert on deadbeat dads, I can help."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It's not about that-"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Like hell, Cas." Dean knew very well that it was about emthat./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel let out a heavy sigh. The bartender finally returned, placing the tow full glasses on the small stretch of counter between the two. She eyed the two carefully before turning away, returning back to her other business./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I emtrusted/em him, Dean," Castiel exaggerated, carefully reaching for his glass, his eyes fixated on the amber colored liquid. "I embelieved /emin him and this is what I get- what emwe/em get." In that moment his blue eyes flicked up, meeting Dean's as the two sat in that shitty bar. It held for a moment, the intense staring contest starting as the two were locked in that gaze./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean grew uncomfortably hot under Cas's gaze and he averted his eyes quickly./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Do you think we can stop it?" Castiel finally asked- and honestly, it surprised Dean. The angel was asking him if they had any hope of stopping the freaking emapocalypse/em./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean wanted to say 'No, are you kidding?!' or 'You're joking, right?' but instead he answered with "Yes. I don't know how, and I don't know when- but emwe/em can do it."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Dean didn't believe it himself, but he hoped Castiel had found some solace in his words./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The angel just responded with a nod before chugging the amber liquid./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Castiel would probably never know that Dean had said that just for him./p 


End file.
